


Tatto your face on my lids, so I can see you in my eternal slumber

by Fruitsandlube



Category: Black Panther (2018), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: African Folklore, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anansi the trickster god, Appearences of Bast Kianda and Mami Wata, Erik Killmonger-centric, Erik on his quest to finding a home, Great parent N'Jobu, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, also fatherhood
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-20
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-05-25 18:40:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14983199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fruitsandlube/pseuds/Fruitsandlube
Summary: Set during his Black Ops days, Erik is cursed by the lover of a woman he killed to find love with someone who'll look past the darkest side of him and love him enough to set him free. To help him on his quest, his parents come to him in dreams, and he gets the unexpected help from various African deities all the while discovering fatherhood. He knows his soulmate is on the continent but doesn't yet realize how hard it will be to find them.





	1. What goes around, comes back around

**Author's Note:**

> This has yet to be proofread, I apologize in advance for any typo you may see.

He hasn't seen her creeping up behind him, didn't realize until it was too late.

All he remembers is feeling a sting at the base of his neck, and the pain rapidly spreading all over his upper body. Afterward, his legs gave up, and as he physically felt himself collapse on the floor, numbness started to take over him. It felt like he was watching instead of being here like control had been entirely taken away from him, and he no longer had a say in anything. He faintly felt a hard cold object, heard the hurried whispers of the woman, felt her knife slice his neck open.

"Oh, how long I've waited for this you have no idea," she hisses, sticking a tiny flacon at the wound, collecting the blood pouring from it. "I've spent nights wide awake wondering if I would ever see you again if I would ever get to make you pay."

Dread appears and bleeds in every layer of him as it dawns on him than he surely will die tonight at the hand of some crazy village woman with a vendetta against him. It's not the first time something like this happened, especially not to Black Ops. And people save their darkest glare for his team, they openly mistrust them, and he doesn't blame them. Every single time he's had a mission on the African continent; it was to maintain chaos and instability in the name of American Imperialism and world order. The first mission he did was in Guinea Equatorial to take out a group of activists. In retrospect, their leader Emmanuel and him were very much alike, both working to get a better life for their people with the rage of the oppressed supporting them. The oppressor, in this case, had been the president and his political party, in power for damn near forty years and no intention of ever governing their people the right way. The elite had gotten rich through corruption but essentially petrol, and that's where the activists decided to hit. They managed to paralyze the country's biggest oil drilling company and that essentially signed their death warrants. The United States were no strangers to fighting for oil, and that's when the Black Ops come into play.

Erik barely remembers any of it, remembers barging into a house full of people dancing and cheering, gets flashes of bodies falling under the weight of bullets. The only thing he remembers is the pleading eyes of a scared man, same age as him and whose only crime had been to want justice. He knows then that he grabbed his neck and stopping the man from breathing, remembers the gasps and the man's hands trying to fight him off to no avail. He remembers and hears still when he dropped the man and listened to his skull crash against the floor.

I'll have to get a mark for this one, he immediately thought.

He got another mark barely four months later as he was once again drafted in West Africa, this time in Cameroon. Though he spent a little less than a day in Yaoundé but shed blood and took enough lives to scare an entire generation of people. He got prompted to take out a group of hackers who took over the CIA database for an hour the year before, those 60 minutes of boldness cost them their lives. Third time happens in Dar Es Salaam, capital of Tanzania in the year of his twenty-eighth birthday. In another life, he'd remember all about the towering palm trees, the colorful houses, the stunning hotels, the rich and vibrant red soil, but that's in another life. In this present life, as a soldier, he was only there to take a spy for the American government who had deserted and refused to carry out his orders. In payback, Erik was to take him and his entire family out but in the end only gets the man and his wife, their five-year-old daughter took off like a little cheetah and simply decided not to kill her. She was just a kid and even she was to tell what happened to her parents, who would believe her? Ten hours later he's on a plane back to America.

The fourth time turns out to almost be fatal, on the day he arrives he slaughters a group of villagers. The reason? Oil again, that and intelligence are two keys which allow him to spread terror across the world in the name of a flag. He thinks nothing of it had learned in almost eight years of military career to see the other as an enemy first before a person and wasn't meant to stay in Boma for long anyway. The terrible weather that night forbids the Black Ops from going back home that night, so he remains. But he doesn't get any sleep, hasn't for many years unless he swallows pills which make him blackout. He hates those too because they make him vulnerable, the dosage is so strong it takes him out for minimum eight hours, and Erik can't afford to be laid back for that long. So sometimes like this night, he doesn't sleep and chooses to roam the streets of Boma. Though he doesn't see much anyway, his mind too preoccupied to actually allow him to look around. Young people roam the street like him, packs of guys dressed in marcels and white shirts, smoking and joking in Lingala with quips of French. There are girls too, but most of them openly mistrust him, side glancing at this strange guy who looks completely out of it like he doesn't even know where he's going. And it's true, Erik realizes once only silence grazes his ears and pitch darkness envelops him. Strangely he doesn't hear the light footsteps, doesn't pick up the shaky breaths the woman lets out until it's too late.

"I thought I would never see you again even if I see you and the others in my nightmares every night," she utters, her shaky voice a sign of how adrenaline dictates her action and words, "You took everything from me, took away the woman I love after we finally figured how to be together. We spent weeks trying to plan to run away so we could be happy but you-" she gasps, and Erik feels wetness fall on his cheek."You murdered her the day after we arrived in Bioko worse thing is you probably don't even remember her!"

_He doesn't, she's right._

"Me? I see her face every minute of the day, know what it looked like when she smiled when she'd tell she loved me, how bright it was when finally got the money to leave. I still see when she-" the woman sobs, and Erik can honestly feel the sadness of it reach the deepest part of him, "I can still see her falling and those bullets piercing her chest! It all went so fast, one minute we were dancing and the next she was bleeding out on the ground!"

He remembers the cries out terror over the music too, and people cradling their loved ones.

"I don't know why you did what you did that night, but I'll make you regret it for the rest of your life," she promises voice suddenly calm, and chills start creeping up on him when he feels her caressing his face.  
"You're no one's son you know, there's no god to claim you, none to protect you, you're all by yourself." she lets out, rubbing the pad of her thumb against his cheek the same a mother would to her newborn."Maybe that's why you go around inflicting pain on those who never did anything to you because you're angry. At first, I thought if I ever got to see you again I'd kill you. But then I thought maybe I could act with my heart and give you a chance, don't ask me why even I wouldn't be able to answer so oh-!"

Erik feels darkness start to swallow him, feels himself slip in and out of consciousness and knows it's the end for him.

"Death would be too kind for you," the woman mocks and grabs him by the underarms."Instead I curse your soul to manifest its evilness through your skin, I vow your appearance to reflect the wickedness of your mind, and finally, I order your heart to seek out the one person who'll love you enough to break the spell in a year's time."

"In the meantime, I offer your body to any god who will be willing to guide you. Of course, they may refuse, and then you'll drown!" she remarks dragging him into the water, "If they accept however I will able to offer your soul in exchange for peace and finally then my heart will stop to hurt so much."

"Good luck, _Lost One_ , you'll be needing a lot of it on your journey."

Those are the last words Erik hears as he feels his brain slowly shutting down and the water swallowing him whole, it penetrates his nostrils and mouth, stopping him from breathing. Panic has entirely taken over him, and he's terrified of death of what's to come to him but feels he won't be able to save himself. He's lost so much blood already he feels weak and lost sensation of his arms so he knows there's no way he'll be getting out of this alive. He closes his eyes and accepts his fate. He hears the warm voice of his father, his mother's loving one and joy fills his slow beating heart, his parent's are welcoming him, arms wide open to hold him from eternity and Erik decides, death is not that bad after all.

"Stay strong my love," calls a masculine voice, filled with fondness and it suddenly sends Erik into alert,"I'm almost there, just wait for me..."

 


	2. Unpromted visit to Yemoja's kingdom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erik meets Yemoja, Godess of the oceans and takes a trip down memory lane.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not proofread, I apologize in advance for any typo you may see.

_Well, I guess this it then._

As the water starts to fill his lungs, life slowly sips out of him, and Erik closes his eyes, has by then accepted his fate. The voice of the man who called to him momentarily shook him, gave him a fleeting hope he could survive, but as he sees the moonlight blurred by the water, he knows it's where it all ends. He feels the ocean swallow him in its entrails, knows his heart is pumping at an excruciating pace and soon it won't at all.

Then he's snatched by something and dragged even more rooted in the darkness.

A certain amount of time passes before anything happens and it does, Erik is pretty sure he's dead. It's silent and compressed like a hospital room; the whole thing feels sterile, stern and lifeless. Strangely sounds reaches his ears even if the rest of him feels stiff like death is coming for his body to shut down his heart forever, to turn his rich dark skin to dull, to turn him into a corpse.

"Mother do you think he's dead?" a light voice quips in worry, it's a child's,"maybe I got to him too late?"

"Oh no he's alive and well, Oluwanifemi," a serene voice answers, soothing the child," it will just take a bit of time for him to wake up."

Something slaps Erik then right on the forehead, and he abruptly jerks into consciousness, but then the light is too abrasive for his eyes, which forces him to close them. He knows then that people surround him, he's not alone and is surprised because he always thought death would involve him being alone forever to repay for all the lives he took.

"You are not dead, Lost One." the same woman's voice corrects,"you're here with me Yemoja and my children."

"Yemoja, from the Orishas pantheon, mother of life and goddess of the-"

"Oceans yes and that's how you've gotten here," she confirms with all the seriousness in the world. Erik is forced to open his eyes because he must be tripping right? You don't meet gods just like that and certainly don't come to you if you didn't call for them, prayed for their presence.

But then when his gaze entwines with hers, he knows she's telling the truth. The tall woman with skin as dark as night and long braids orned with gold and rose gold shells breathes authority and grace, the way only a god can. It's the way only she, the mother of life can.

"Wha- How did I get here ?" he inquires realizes for the first time he was laying on what seems to be a bed of water? He sits up in bewilderment and carefully pats the liquid surface; he can feel his weight is resting on it but can't wrap his mind about that. He turns and moves brusquely, eyes glancing everywhere, looking for a way out. Except there isn’t any, it becomes clear when he glances up at the ceiling and its…..made of water? Like he is underwater but can breathe just fine?

"When you were thrown into the ocean after being cursed you were let's say...open for grabs," at the clear confusion in his eyes she raises a jeweled hand, tells him to be patient, "presently you are no one's son, you've claimed no god and none has chosen to be your protector. Which is how I got you first, and you should feel lucky!"

"Anancy, the trickest god, could get you!" a voice interjects, shills evident in the child's posture.

"Or even Kianda!" another one adds and though Erik has never heard of her, the tone in which the kid said it tells him this god cannot be good. "She's a god of water and life, like Mother," at that the child stops and gazes at Yemoja with pure admiration in his eyes," but she's a trickster as well especially with those who are not her children. "

Erik realizes he doesn't know any of the children's name and notes how rounded up around Yemoja they all are, like an army behind their leader, a class behind its teacher, believers behind their god.

"Those are your kids, all of them ?" he wonders, eyes gliding through the room and its occupants.

"When they were alive they were orphan, and in death, the water brought them to me," she says offering a gentle smile to children at her feet, "so yes they are all mine. But tell me N'Jadaka which god are you the child of ?"

The usage of his birth name startles him; he hasn't heard it is long it's become almost unfamiliar and foreign to his ears. His parents were the only ones to call him that and with their death fifteen years ago, his name practically disappeared. Though it seems the goddess doesn't care for that, and when she only gets silence in response, she raises her eyebrows at the man's unwillingness to cooperate.

"It's been such a long time I've been faced with disobedience I've almost forgotten what it feels like!" she chuckles but then gets up, features as severe as they were before.

Erik sees her coming towards him and redresses himself like he was thought in the army, spine straight and eyes fixed ahead, looking as serene as possible even if you're freaking out on the inside. He shivers as she stands in front of him, their bodies separated by only millimeters and try his hardest to maintain her gaze at it entwines with his.

 _It's okay N'Jadaka; your mind will talk even if you don't,_ her voice assures.

But she hasn't said anything; he has seen her mouth stay closed and yet, he heard her as clear as day and then realizes, she's in his head. He feels her grab it then, feels the gold of her rings press against his skin and a strange sense of possession take over him. Erik jerks and tries to pull back from her grip but suddenly it's too late, his entire eyesight blurs, and before he knows it, a tidal wave comes to crash on him and he blacks out.

“Alright baby your dad and I are out, promise you’ll be good to Auntie,” his mother’s voice reaches his ears first, and he hears steps, hers as she gets closer to him.

Except it’s not him, she’s walking to as Erik finds out when he opens his eyes. He’s in his old room, the one in the Oakland apartment when he was still living with his parents (when they were still alive, the words ring in his mind). He turns to his mother then and stares in shock at the sight of her, alive and well. Monica Stevens looks just as he remembers her, chubby cheeks and skin a warm chestnut shade, but most of all, her eyes. He recalls her big brown eyes and how they hold the key to peace everytime the world’s been too scary for a little boy like him, the only thing he could do was to return running to his mother. His mom was his key to peace, to calmness, serenity and the one time he remembers in his life where he didn’t have to be alone.

“God knows she has enough to do with them bad ass kids,” Monica adds winking at her little boy before dropping a kiss on the top of his head. They can hear his father’s booming laugh all the way from the living room before the man himself pokes his head through the door and looks lovingly at his little family.

Then it hits him present-day N’Jadaka, and it’s almost like his heart stutters as he realizes this it the last time he saw his parent’s. He remembers feeling anxious like something was about to happen but didn’t know exactly what. He found out a few hours later when he was brusquely awoken by his auntie who had gone entirely hysterical. He didn’t realize at first because it was too hard for her to say anything through the tears, the gasps as she cried so much she barely could breath then the secret was out.

“Your mom and dad had an accident N’Jadaka, I’m so sorry baby,” and while she didn’t actually say they had died, the pain in her eyes and the way she fiercely held onto him as the world crashed around him, it was enough.

Present day N’Jadaka lets out a gasp, had buried this night into the farthest part of his memory and yet here he was, living it all over again. He takes a step back and eventually finds the way to his Auntie’s old apartment, then obscurity swallows him whole again.

This time it’s a child is what wakes him, a cry of pain followed by sobs and a sentiment of deja vu like somehow he's already been there before.

"What is it, unyana wam?" calls the deep voice of his fathers and Erik's heart skips a beat upon hearing it,"you've fallen again. Did you hurt yourself, let me see ?"

He opens in his eyes, feels he's laying on a hard humid surface and sits up to follow the voice he's missed so much.

"My baby better not gotten hurt cause of your foolishness N'Jobu!" warns his mother's voice and Erik's head snaps so fast towards her, he's startled when he realizes there are tears in his eyes.

Mama... the name rings in his mind, it is attached to the greatest love he's ever known and yet the worst pain he had to suffer. Then it downs on why he felt the sense of deja vu; it's because he's already lived this moment. It was years ago, he was tiny back then and barely remembers it now, but his father's calm presence and his mother's voice are engraved in his memory, in his very being.

"Come on, my son, life is made of falls," his fathers says, grabbing a three-year-old N'Jadaka by the shoulders in that gently fatherly way of his,"but the most important thing is always to get up."

N'Jobu then lowers himself to be able to look at his son in the eye and lightly caresses the top of his head, his finger gliding through thick curls. Erik remembers too all those nights with his parents when they told him all about how he was born with a head full of hair, how his mother would put her nose their and whisper to him at nights when he refused to stop crying.

The little boy Erik once then lifted a tiny chubby and put on his father's cheek, "Baba help me up?" his light voice asks.

N'Jobu smiles, with all the love in the world written in his eyes just for his little boy; His son, his joy, his blessing.

"Yes my son, Baba will always help you get up."

Present day N’Jadaka gets up then, his heart feels swollen with happiness, and before he knows it, he’s running towards his parents.

Then it’s all black again.

 _No, wait, please! Mama, baba come back please!_ he hears himself yelling but gets no answer in return, it’s him and him all alone again.

Then he opens his eyes and meets those of Yemoja and her children; he’s back in that strange room again. Some of the kids look at him with their eyes filled with worry, and he knows they’ve all seen his memory. Other kids openly pity him; it’s evident in their eyes and Erik frowns at this.

Yemoja’s back on her throne now, surrounded by her kids but her eyes are set on him, “You’re never alone N’Jadaka,” she says trying to comfort him even if it’s clear he doesn’t want it. “Your parents have been trying to communicate with you, but it seems those people you’ve sold your life to, also own your mind.” She says it with a grimace, feels sorry for that lost boy who ended up with her without knowing why. Then she suddenly raises her eyes and seems to be looking through the water, Erik figures she must see clearly, she is the goddess of the sea after all.

A radiant smile draws itself on the face of the diety, and she looks at him once again, “Here’s your chance N’Jadaka to no go through this challenge alone, to not be for once the Lost One.” She raises her eyes again to the ceiling made of water, and he follows her gaze, sees a masse dropping in the ocean from afar.

“Meet Aadila, your newest companion,” she announces, and water swiftly starts to wrap itself around Erik, “she and you share more than you think. The children and I cannot wait for you to go on your journey to break the curse. Be careful though, since you’ve claimed no god as your own many of them out there cannot wait to catch and since your bound to Aadila, they’ll catch you both.”

“She’s your key to freedom and you to hers, under no excuse can you two be apart.”

Erik hears himself yelling telling her to stop whatever magic trick she’s doing and explain what the hell she means by “bound” but as he starts to learn, there’s never enough time with Yemoja the Goddess of Oceans and mother of life. Soon enough darkness drags him in, and he blacks out again.

This time again it’s a cry that wakes him, except it’s more of a scream. He jolts up and opens his eyes sees he’s on a beach. Then his gaze turns to find a young woman in front of him, she’s screaming like the devil is in front of her, there’s a bag full of fried pastries open, and some of it scattered around her like she’s dropped it upon seeing him.

“Oh, my days a beast !” she hollers alerting other people on the beach who turn her way upon hearing her words, “somebody take the child from him please!”

These words set off something inside, it unfurls in his chest like fire and before he knows he’s on his feet. The woman backs up in fright and Erik sees some of the bystanders stop behind her. Then he hears it, hears himself and recognizes his own voice, growling like a beast.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've made it this far thank you! You'll get to know more about Aadila and Erik's curse in the next chapter, and of course, our favorite king will make his appearance. Kudos and comments are appreciated!


	3. Of trickster gods and beasts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erik wakes up from his visit to Yemoja's kingdom with a kid in tow and new problem comes his way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning : mentions of child prostitution.

Erik's been around extremely loud people, and blaring sounds, explosions etcetera his whole life, so technically this should be easy as a piece of cake for him, but it isn't. Maybe it's because he was pulled out of water literally two minutes ago and it's what, morning already? So he's supposedly been in the ocean a good part of the night, and yet he's breathing alright. But the strange sound, almost like an engine or animal? What the hell is that and where is it coming from?

 "Get the child away from him!" screeches a woman, Erik's vision is blurry so he can't correctly see her. He sees the outline of her shape, the baby blue of her beach hat but her facial features can't be seen.

  _What the hell did that witch do to me?_ Is the first thing crossing his mind. Though it felt like nothing more than half an hour, Erik must realize that he obviously spent longer under the water and something about him right feels off.

 A gun comes in his vision pointing at him, and when his eyes glide up to its owner, Erik realizes the witch must've royally fucked him over. The man with the gun seems to muster all the courage he can, but the Black Ops agent can't see it's all a facade. The dude's probably shitting in his pants right now, Erik can't see the fear written all over the man's eyes.  In the next second, he can see the exact time the man decides the fire the shot.

 

And he hears the piercing scream of a child.

 

"No don't shoot, please!" she begs, coming from behind to place her tiny body in front of him, "please!".

 

This shuts everyone up momentarily, including Erik. He had forgotten she was even here! He frowns at the little girl who's so short she barely reaches his thighs, sees her skinny shoulder tense under the fear. What exactly does she think she's doing? He wonders even he already knows the answer.

"He put a spell on her!" one old lady shouts, horrified, "he's a demon!" another one adds. "Shoot him and let's get the child!" a man presses.

 The telltale sound of a shooting bullet reaches his ears, and a moment later, it crashes against the spot where his shoulder and neck meet, then going to lodge itself deep in the bone.

 An animal like cry is ripped from him as the force of the impact almost sends him toppling backward, it's only his training in the military that keeps him up. The pain forces him to grit his teeth, hoping to distract his mind from solely focusing on the pain until he can figure out a way to end the situation.

And then, the solution to his problem explodes; literally, purples erupts in front of him almost like a shield before flaring up and sending him to the ground.

Erik barely has the time to wonder what the hell just happened when the little girl's face comes to his vision, and he can feel her tug at him. "Come on we must go this won't hold them for much longer!" she urges, putting all her strength while pulling on his arms.

He's on his feet in an instant and dragging the little girl away in the next. Before they leave his gaze turns around one last time to the beach, where the people previously shouting at him are now spread randomly on the ground. It all looks like there was bombing or something and it almost seems like steam is sweating from the sand, like the earth itself felt the power of the explosion. Erik's eyes turn to the ocean then, wondering just what the hell the Goddess of the Sea did to him last night.

 

For the next hour or so he's walking, knows he's physically moving but can't set his mind in the present. He can feel the small warm hand of the little girl in his, knows he's been holding it ever since they left the beach and doesn't understand why he hasn't let go yet. He didn’t even took a look at her, and when he finally glances down, she keeps looking forward like she too, is lost in her thoughts. Erik's got so many questions, about what happened, who that little girl is and most of all, what's going on with him. He can feel it deep inside him, that he's changed and that's why he still hasn't said anything, he's scared of what he'll sound like.

He and the kid pass by a couples strangers on their way, they all look horrified, and some even seem ready to snatch the kid away. Erik himself is wondering how he'll get rid of her but then think about himself as a child and realizes he just can't do that. He's been alone for most of his life in the cruel world and wouldn't wish on his worst enemy. So he'll probably wait to see a hospital or an orphanage before letting the kid there. He can't possibly leave her out on the streets like this, not with all the human trafficking and child prostitution going on all around the world. It's a problem he had to face multiple time in his CIA career when an enemy of the United States also happened to love brothels no matter how young the workers sometimes were. Worse times were when it was kids, held hostage in these places and he could hear them scream in terror; as he took out whoever he had to. He could remember all the times he shot men while they were in bed with a minor, could hear the girls something young boys screeching like it was yesterday.

The little girl suddenly stopped in her track, brought him back to the present."Look it's out!" she said, pointing at the wound near his shoulder and it was right, the bullet had come out. When? He couldn't tell you, had been so wrapped up his mind the entire walk felt like a blur.

 

When he glanced up, he saw they were now in a forest, and the little girl had started to walk again, tugging on his hand. He quickly realized, she knew where she was going.

"Where we going?" he asked, his voice so much deeper and grave than usual it could pass as a grumble.

"Your house." The kid quietly said keeping her eyes ahead.

"Hold on, hey hold on kid," he said tugging on her hand and making her come to a halt before she finally turned towards him. When their eyes met, hers suddenly widened in fear before she forced herself to look calm.

"Goddess Yemoja said I have to help you find your soulmate and then the curse will be lifted." She offered, her voice careful and hesitant like she was talking to a wild animal, "she said we're bound together so I have to help you and you have to help me too."

"Help you with what?"

Little girl bit her lip at that, unsure of if she should tell him the truth or not.

"Come on kid don't do this, I don't have that kinda patience so just tell me." He pressed crouching down, so he could be on the same eye level as her, "what you need help with?"

"I'm looking for my mommy," she confessed in a whisper like it wasn't supposed to be said out in the open."Some people came to our house a long time ago, and they took her."

Erik wants to ask where her dad was and why is she out here all alone. But the pool of sadness in her eyes told him that man was surely dead or at least, not in his child's life at all. So she was all on her own, like him. At least he got the chance to have more time with his parents; this little girl looked barely older than six so she must've been on her own from a very young age.

 "Alright tell you, I'll drop you at a hospital-"

 "No!" she screamed suddenly grabbing his shirt, "no hospitals!"

"Why the hell not?"

"Because the bad men will find me." Came the chilling answer.

 

Of course, Erik wanted to ask more, the mystery surrounding this kid was getting bigger by the second and he could barely wrap his mind about the events from last night already! But his ear picked up on the sound of movements, the sound of feet moving towards them and couldn't risk another since like the once at the beach again. So he grabbed the child lifted her in his arms, and walked to put distance between them and whoever was in that forest.

"Explain yourself girl what are you talking about?" He asks once the path is clear, he puts her back on her feet and crouches again to her level, "who are those bad men you say are looking for ya?"

The kid bites her lip again still clearly defiant and not sure she should tell him anything. But the hope of finally not being alone anymore sets her words free, "the men who got me here." she lets out, and it's like a breath of fresh air, she can finally share the burden that's been weighing down her little heart."They said daddy owed them money and since he was gone, I should pay it back."

Anger surges in Erik upon hearing her words, she's a kid dammit! He thinks, and his mind goes straight to child prostitution as a means to repay that debt. He shudders in disgust and immediately vows to take care of those men once he figures out a way to lay low for a while.

"I was a witch for them," little girl offers when she since his face shut down and a storm of rage in his eyes, "they made people pay so I could show them what I do." And a hint of joy tickles her mind as she recalls,"I went on a plane with them, it went all over Africa !"

Erik lets out a huge breath of relief, the sudden anger not disappearing but going to bury itself deeper in his mind. He'll take care of these guys no matter what, knowing what kind of business this is, they probably mingle in child prostitution anyway. That also explains how she ended up in the Democratic Republic of Congo when her accent clearly shows she's not from here. That itself adds another problem since he doesn't know where she's from, he, therefore, doesn't know where that mysterious mom of hers could be. Plus there's no way in hell he'll cross borders with a kid in tow. First things first, he knows to get back to his team and signal to his boss that he's alive and well.

His beeper rings a second later; the tiny device is still surprisingly working even after being in the water last night.

 

"Erik is that you?!" calls the voice of Linda, she seems on edge, and instantly Erik knows something else happened last night.

The use of his name and not the code assigned to him makes him raise his eyebrows."What no Killmonger this time?" He retorts jokingly, knows it's the worst time ever to be playing around, but he can't help but push her around a bit.

A gasp of relief reaches his ears,"Where the hell have you been? I thought you were dead - shit do you have any idea of what happened?" Upon receiving silence she continues, "everyone's dead Darrell, Joe, Teyonah, everyone."

"What you mean they're dead, how the fuck did that happen?"

"We all got an alert coming from you, your beeper,  you didn't say anything, but we could tell you were injured," she says, the question if he's alright now at the tip of her tongue."So Teyonah and Joe went first, and their beeper was cut off barely a half an hour later, so we figured out we were being attacked by some intelligence agency or locals or whatever. I called the bosses to let them know all about the situation, and I positioned to stay at the warehouse, and we were all supposed to meet there come morning."

"But no one showed up." Erik finishes for her.

"At nine exactly I was told i was the survivor of our entire team," she says next but he can hear in her voice she's not telling the whole truth.

"Linda come on just tell me." He presses, hoping whatever they used to feel for each other two years ago still lingers. And that it will force her to let him know if shit is about to hit the fan.

"They're putting the blame on you, Erik," she finally lets out, and he can hear she's holding her breath right afterward."They said everyone left their assigned position to look for you, so if they're all dead, it's because of you. And what happened to your voice, you sound weird?"

 

 _Shit, so his whole life really went to shit in one night huh?_ He'll defend himself, of course, he had nothing to do with the deaths, hell he was fighting death himself at the same damn time! But looking around him, at the towering trees blocking the sun and framing the entire forest, he knows he doesn't even know where he is right now. He was following the little girl, and when his gaze sets on her, his heart skips a beat.

In her hands cupped like the most precious thing in the world, is a fucking spider!

"Put it down, kid! Put the damn thing down now!" He barks which make the child jump in surprise and drop the spider she was holding a second ago.

 

Except as Erik has come to learn around here, nothing is what it seems. Not even that damn spider. Before he even has the time to smash the thing, a thick smoke of orange swallows him whole. And a second later he finds himself in front of a man, a strange one. The stranger's tall and holds himself upright with the help of a golden cane. The man himself is dressed to the nines in warms colors, the lapels of his shirt show shapes of spiders lined with gold and red.

"Welcome to my humble abode N'Jadaka son of N'Jobu," the man greets, a smirk on his lips displaying his perfectly white teeth. "I am Anansi, Tricker God and you my dear, I have something that belongs to me."

"Look I don't know what you talking about and where the hell is we?!" Erik gestures around himself, he feels just as lost as when he saw Yemoja.

"Like a said, fool, you are in my humble abode." the God retorts, lifting an eyebrow to show his annoyance."Anyway, you've heard what I said, and I have an offer for you."

"I'm not interested."

The God laughs, his shoulders shaking like it's the funniest thing he's ever heard."Are you sure, Son of N'Jobu? Are you not on the loose with a child,  while the most powerful organism in the white man’s world is coming to get your head and put it on a stick? Do you really think you're not in dear need of help?"

When he gets nothing in response but a frown, the God continues," I can get the CIA of your back, forever; oh wait, I can even lift up the curse that witch put on you. After all, I'm a god, there's nothing I can't do!" he rejoices in his power in the lack of limit around it."All I want in exchange is the love your soulmate has for you."

That makes Erik frown even more because what could a god possibly want his soulmate when Erik himself has never met the person? But at the same it's not like he thinks much of them anyway, he's never pictured his life with a soulmate, and this would be the quickest way to get out of this mess. Then he remembers when he was a child sitting in his father's lap while the man told him all about African mythology and the many deities it englobes. And he remembers that Anansi is the god of tricks and mischief, knows he cannot trust a word the god says.

"What do you mean when you say you want my soulmate's love?" He voices out, “I don’t even know who that is how could they already love me ?” Then he realizes the little girl is nowhere to be seen."What'd you do with the kid, where is she?"

A raise of eyebrows is all he gets in answer, "Don't stress yourself with the child, this matter only concerns you and me."

"So what you just let a six-year-old on her own in the middle of the fucking forest ?!" Erik growls and gets up in furry, ready to grab the God by the neck if he has too," are you out of your damn mind?"

"No," the God answers, amused by the little display of force he just witnessed,"but you will be soon, that little girl will only bring you trouble."

"What you mea-"

"Enough!" Anansi interjects,"I brought you here so we can make a deal, I will not be an answer box for questions you must resolve yourself! Now I will repeat one last time, and if I don't get an answer, you'll be on your own." The God lifts a finger, daring Erik to speak up before saying again,"You will walk a free man right after I'm done with you if I get your soulmate's heart in return. That means that mate of yours never will know you're their soulmate but you will, except you'll never be able to tell them the truth. But you will be free of that curse and that child-"

"No," the word is out of his mouth before Erik can stop it,"the kid is staying with me."

Anansi shrugs and offers the American man his hand, it seems to be laced with gold,"do we have a deal ?"

 

Erik takes the man's hand in his before he can back out and accepts. His eyes widened as gold envelops his hand, the heat of it scorching his palm only a small preview of the extent of Anansi's power.

"Very well then, Son of N'Jobu," The God concludes, and a smirk draws itself again on his mouth,"I hope you know a thing or two about Bast the Panther Godess, she's coming your way and she hates when people mess with her children."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've made it this far thank you!  
> We'll finally get to meet T'Challa in the next chapter and learn more about Erik's curse. We'll also get a visit from Bast, and you'll get to know more about Aadila!  
> Comments and kudos are appreciated!


	4. Aadila's baba

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erik and Aadila set into their routine and get to know each other. We learn more about the little girl and find out what they both have in common. Also, Erik gets an unexpected visit from someone he thought he would never see again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Placing Wakanda on a real-life map of East Africa is actually hell; that's what bothered me the most and kept me from posting the chapter all this time. In the end, I decided to leave that for the next chapter, you'll just get to see Erik and Aadila's life at the Tanzanian village close Wakanda's border.

Aadila.

That’s the little’s girl’s name, Erik comes to find out, she’s actually six and not four like he previously thought. He also thought he could ditch her at an orphanage or a hospital but there too, was a surprise waiting for him.

Scratch that, there’s already several surprises Erik discovered. The first one? The Curse he’s been put under by that crazy woman in Congo is still here. Erik got scammed and now feels like an idiot for ever thinking the Ashanti god of tricks would actually make a legit deal with him. See there’s one crucial detail Anansi willingly left out, Erik is very much still cursed except only he and Aadila know it and see it. To everyone else, hell even you, Erik simply has a strange aura to him and would just be the kind of dude you would change sidewalks because of. After three days of walking and making sure, there was enough distance between him and the city of Boma, he finally found a place to lay low in. It will provide enough calm for him to shortly figure out a way to get out that international mess he’s now in with the CIA. Laying low and hiding in plain sight from whoever looks for him isn’t difficult, he’s gone under the radar in his life plenty of times.

The sound of a child’s footsteps coming near gets him out his thoughts, he turns slightly to the sounds. Immediately though, he knows it’s Aadila, has these kinds of details about the child printed in his mind. It’s strange this bond between them, Erik even refuses to call it that, it has developed so quick he’s still not sure how it even happened. At first, they were just walking, looking for a place to call refuge, a place she could rest her swollen little feet. A place she could fall asleep in and visit the ancestors. Then as the days went by, the trust Little Aadila put in him started to weight down his heart. A heart that’s been hurt by the loss of his parents, and left to die by the world’s indifference.

One day he was the son of Monica and N’Jobu Stevens, the next he was a lone electron that no one wanted to attach themselves too. He went from being the cherished child, the fruit of a love anchored in affection and mutual respect, to a being one barely spared a look for. He went from being a child so strongly desired, his parents had tried for years to conceive, to be another file on the social worker’s desk. Foster homes and parents, oh there was a lot of those. The first one he got dropped into two weeks after his parent’s accident; the dad barely lasted two days before putting the paws on its new foster child. Erik ran away the next day. The second home was lead by Jacqueline, a plump woman with a big heart but nowhere near enough time to take care of all the kids she had. She had beginnings of dementia as well, he only stayed three months at her house. The rest of them, that long list of people the American government gave him to, he doesn’t really care for or remembers. Except for maybe a time when he was around fifteen, living with four other foster kids in an eager young couple. It’s not them you should know about, no, it’s their neighbors. The Touré, a family of four lead by a middle-aged couple: Ahmed and Xolela. The wife is also the only Wakandan person Erik’s ever met outside his dad. He never actually got to speak to them, had overhead one evening the father advise his children not to play with “American rascals” and figured out he wouldn’t be welcomed in their home.

This is just another example of why Erik feels he’ll never belong, anywhere or with anybody.

But his parents and ancestors are here, reach out in the quiet night for their long-lost son through dreams. Unfortunately, Erik doesn’t know how to answer; how to reach back, was never taught how to.

Little Aadila however, knows how to and does reach to her ancestors any chance she gets.

“Mama taught me,” she said the first night she dragged him along for her visit to the ancestors. Erik had freaked out when an old lady came to view, her skin a rich mahogany shade, wrinkled by life and its challenges. _Bibi saa_ , grandmother, Aadila called the woman before rushing to her and enveloping her thin arms around the lady’s leg.

Erik had felt like he was intruding on a moment he had nothing to do with, the reunion of a family he wasn’t a part of. Then again, it’s a feeling he knows all too well, the one of feeling like you don’t belong anywhere. Like you’ll never belong anywhere. But to know, no to see a child and their ancestors right in front of his eyes was astonishing, and even with the best poker face in the world, Erik couldn’t hide a much he longed to be able to do the same.

“Your mother has been waiting for you, son,” the old lady’s voice reached his ears, light like the sound of wind but wise with the experience of life. She raised her hand and gestured something behind him, a light, so bright that when Erik turned to it, it blinded him and swallowed him whole.

"N’Jadaka!” called the amazed voice of his mother, a voice his heart knew but his brain had forgotten.

Before he could react, a pair of chunky arms wrapped themselves around his torso and immediately he was crying against his mother’s shoulder. “Oh baby, my sun my moon,” his mother rejoiced, finally able to squeeze him in her love after all this time of not being able to.

“How?” was all that came of his mouth, all he could think of. His mind couldn’t wrap itself around the fact that his mother was there, in front of him, beautiful and warm as he remembered.

“Aadila, that child is special just like you!” she simply answered, even though that barely explained anything to him. “I tried calling you for so long my baby, but the world kept you away from me. It hurt so much to see you sell your life to those devils, to see you struggle, to see you being so lonely. And then Aadila showed up like a dream, she asked questions about you, wanted to know you through us because you would never speak. You gotta fix that young man, that girl is a gift of life to you, just like you are to her and you gotta cherish that!” Monica chastised, her dark brown eyes set and severe on her son. “She’s a gem and so damn powerful you finally came back to me!”

Then her eyes paid attention to the roughness of his face, to the vein-like lines circling his eyes, to the unnatural brown of those orbs she loved so much. “Look what they’ve done to you, baby, look at why they made you do!” her hold on both sides of his face became stronger, as tears welled in her eyes. “All because of what you’ve become, you think you can get away with not living right, you think you can shoot your way out or make deals to put you in a better place! But I see you, I see that damn curse still on you, I see the one this terrible country that is America has put on you for being a black child! I see how it attacks you every day of your life, I know you became vulnerable to it since I’m gone. I realize how much being lonely has damaged you, made you afraid of seeking a family ever again, even a child is pushed onto you! I see how close you are to father’s land, the last connection you have with him on this earth, and how afraid of it you are.” The soft pad of her thumbs swoops under his eyes to dry the tears he’s shedding, “you think they won’t accept you and the last thing you have of N’Jobu will be ruined forever.” Like all those years ago when Erik was still a little boy when he could only find comfort in his mama’s embrace, he nods at the truth of her words. He also already knows what she’s about to say next.

“Except you’ll never know if you don't try, baby.”

Then it’s all over, his mother’s gone, and he wakes up with a jump, sweat drenching his back and heart racing like it’s trying to fly out of his chest.

Little Aadila comes in his view a few seconds later, her face shiny and eyes are wide in expectations. “Did you speak to your mama?”

Erik nods, entirely cannot wrap his mind around that fact. His mother who died almost twenty years ago was with him, held him as she spoke to him. His hands shake, it almost feels like his entire body was there with him when it happened, but he knows for a fact it was all in his head.

“How’d you do that?”

“I heard your mama when she called for you, then,” she comes closer to bed’s side and grabs his hand, “I did this, and you went to see the ancestors with me.”

Erik frowns because this doesn’t really explain anything to him, but knows are simple things are for kids and leaves it at that. Anyway, he needs time for his head to get back on track, his heart still feels distraught because of the dream.

“Bibi saa said she likes you, says thank you for taking of me,” Aadila says but he knows her enough now to know when she has more to tell, so he waits, “but she says hiding from your soulmate isn’t good because they’re looking for you.”

“And how she know that huh, your grandma?” He asks, slightly annoyed that old lady is giving her two cents about something that doesn’t have anything to do with her.

“Because no one wants to be always alone, they want to love, your soulmate too but maybe they think you’re dead because of God Anansi.” Aadila counters back, her big brown eyes judging him, “that’s not right.”

He has nothing to respond to that, so whatever morning routine they got comes up next.

"Did you mean when you said you will help me? " the kid blurts out, chewing loudly on a piece of mango.

Erik stills where he's sat on the patio right next to the little girl, surprised at hearing her voice after days of silence. She heard of the deal he made with Anansi The trickster God, got upset and has made it very clear she doesn’t agree. So what? She’s just a kid, and Erik’s never been one to be that affected by children. Her little self-was fuming with discontent, she glared at him, chin up and clearly upset, then got back to walking ahead putting distance between them. At that moment, he was tempted to take off but quickly realized Yemoja the Goddess of water meant it when she said they were stuck together until he met his soulmate. But wait that didn't mean anything since Anansi the God ended the curse? Nope try again because apparently African scammer gods are a thing.

Erik remembers that time he got to see himself in a mirror after so long. Could see how rough and dry the skin of his face was, how scales like patches of dark brown began at his hairline to end up his cheekbones. _Like a fucking snake!_   the words set a fire in his entire being, appalled and angry he was turned into a literal monster. Worst things were his eyes and how thin, fine lines almost like a thread surrounded them. He looked like a junkie, a person whose inner illness was there for everyone to see, right there on his face. With the raised bumps starting at shoulders and covering his torso, he really looked a creature straight out of someone's nightmare. The bumps he doesn't really care about, got them himself, it's the rest, what was forced onto him that he hates. 

It was maybe two weeks after that day on the beach. He and the kid had since traveled across the Democratic Republic of Congo by any means they could get, stolen cars, on foot you name it. They finally got out of the country and had now reached the eastern part of the continent.

“I want to go to Wakanda.”

Erik chokes on the piece of mango he was eating, thinks he's heard that wrong. She definitely didn't say that, or maybe he's just going crazy having only spoken to a child for the last week. Or perhaps it's just the fact he's been scammed by a damn African god or even the fact that the CIA is looking for his ass because they think he's killed his team members. Erik also hasn't heard of Linda ever since that one call, so he's basically in limbo...with a kid attached to him.

Aadila doesn’t care for his reaction, her gaze is set on him, expecting an answer. When she understands it’s a no, she continues “A lady I met at the market told me she knew my mama, she can bring me to her in Wakanda.”

He didn’t make it past the ‘a lady’ a spark of anger lights up his entire spine, “Watchu mean a lady, didn’t I tell not go around speaking to anybody ?!” he sermons, the fear of someone snatching her to throw her into human trafficking or the same kind of horror making him react with such vigor. “Are you out of your mind kid, what I said about strangers huh ?”

“To never talk to them.” comes the mumbled reply.

It’s too late though, Erik is already set on catching that lady who thinks she can just pop up in his kid’s face to sell her dreams about Wakanda. First, his brain scratch at the fact he’s just called Aadila his kid, as in his daughter then the rest of what she said finally sets in his mind.

“Your mama’s in Wakanda, so you’re from there too?!”

Aadila nods, and before he can talk himself out of it, Erik pulls his bottom lip down to reveal the Wardog tattoo his fathers gave him. It’s a gift, a key to the doors of Wakanda.   
The child gasps and drops her bowl of mangoes in surprise, the fruits clashing against the patio wood floor and the juice of them coating it in a sticky sugary film.

“Dila man, come on!” Erik sighs, he’s spent damn near half an hour finding those mangoes, and she only ate one, now the rest are wasted.

“Sorry baba!” the little girl offers, and Erik’s heart jumps in his chest at the words, but he doesn’t say anything. As she puts the fruits back into the bowl to throw them away, he gazes silently at her, wonders how the hell they got here. How the hell he basically became someone’s dad?! Also, the country of Wakanda just made an unexpected come back in his life, and he doesn’t know what to do about that.

For nearly all of his life, Wakanda's only been a shadow casting eternal negative emotions on him. Erik can't remember a day after losing his parents when he didn't feel angry and betrayed by his father's nation of origin. N'Jobu had said that if something were to happen to Monica and him, Erik would be taken care of by his people. When the little boy sat in his father's lap as the man told tales of the most beautiful sundown in the world, how much better life is there, hope bloomed in his chest and kept excited to discover that land. The young boy knew without having ever left America and solely by his father's voice, that Wakanda would be the one place in the entire where Erik could feel he truly belonged.  
When he lost his parents at the age of eleven, that envy to belong turned into an obsession and kept him up and eager months after the tragedy. Even as he was put in what would be the first of many foster homes, Erik would stare at the night sky in the hope of seeing that weird spaceship his uncle took the last and only time he saw him. He barely remembers the man, to be honest, only his father’s joy at seeing an old friend is anchored in his mind. But he recalls one thing for, the man was the King of Wakanda and the friendship he shared with N’Jobu would be their ticket home to the country.

First, he had to see that Wakandan lady who got Aadila so hype on a trip to the isolationist and mysterious country. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know yall can't wait for Erik and T'Challa to meet and I'm sorry for making you guys wait so long. But you gotta remember this is an Erik centric fic and I really wanted to dive into his past for this chapter. Also, the bond between him and Aadila may seem a bit rushed for some and I understand that, but you'll get to see more in the next chapter. And finally, I promise you'll get our favorite king in the next chapter, will Anansi's spell work on him or will not have any idea of what Erik is meant to be for him? 
> 
> Thanks again for reading, take care and until next time :)


	5. Interlude- In a King's heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Interlude where instead of Erik, it's T'Challa you get to spend time with and see his side of the story.

  
From his birth, all the way to his crowning, T'Challa's life revolved around him becoming king of Wakanda one day. That one day he got closer, and he felt both the burden and honor of becoming a leader looming over him every day. T'Challa thought by now it would've swallowed him whole, but aside from being a king, he's still very much a boy recovering from losing his father and more recently....his soulmate.

It felt sudden, striking like someone just abruptly ended his soulmate's life. T'Challa tries his hardest to not think of it, how it happened, it can only hurt him more. But he's human, and since that one time he succeeded in connecting with them, he can't help but wonder how they ended. Unfortunately, even for the king of the most technologically advanced country on the planet, it's impossible to find someone when their face and name are unknown to you. So he mourns, feels that strange feeling of lost possibilities looming over his heart and pushing his brain for solutions he knows are unattainable.

"I don't even know what you looked like," he whispered one night, where solitude particularly kept him from sleeping. He tries his hardest to wrap his mind around the fact he lost his soulmate and will never get to meet them. But it's hard to even for a king, for someone trained their whole life to keep his heart from ruling his mind when a love that once felt present is just suddenly gone. It's almost like a ghost, the embodiment of something he'll never get to have. And so he mourns because he had hoped that like his father, he too would have ruled over the country with his soulmate by his side.

His soulmate was a strong person, smart and passionate that T'Challa knew just by the handful of moments he got to connect with them. Though it seemed his soulmate didn't realize almost like they just let down the guard surrounding their thoughts and let T'Challa in. It happened so rarely, but each time the King was struck by how angry, defensive his soulmate was. From the very first time, he knew they were leading a hard life wherever there were, full of obstacles and worse...all alone. It was strange almost knowing somebody, having memorized what their presence felt like in your mind and yet, them feeling so far. T'Challa wondered many times over the years if his soulmate could hear his thoughts if he knew there was someone out there waiting for him.

Then one day, the presentation was just gone, evaporated into nothingness, like their soulmate had suddenly vanished from the surface of the earth. Like death had come to collect its due, just like that it was over. And life had to keep going like nothing happened, (well technically since they never met, nothing had happened anyway). Life had lost its edge, the excitement at the prospect of meeting his soulmate used to thump under his skin, all that was left now was a void, a dullness.

At least the last time, in the middle of the night when they almost died, T'Challa had somewhat been warned they were in danger, the danger of death. Once T'Challa was sure his soulmate could feel his presence when he spoke to him and encouraged him to stay alive, he could feel the man was physically close, closer than he had ever been before. He was on the continent of Africa, that was for sure, he was close.

And the next day, nothing, poof he was gone.

T'Challa his brought back to the present when his kimoyo beads beep up, signaling someone is trying to reach him. He accepts, and General Okoye's face shows up, "My King it's Nakia," she begins, after a slight bow of the head in a gesture of greeting, " while undercover in Rwanda she said she came across a Wakanda child, an orphan who's being watched by an American. Nakia says something is off, very off about him, surely he's hiding something and dragging the child along." Then the general's eyes squint in reflection before she says, "Nakia thinks he's cursed as well."

He repeats the word, waiting for her to elaborate but it seems that's all Nakia said. Still, it doesn't take much to know what she's talking about, witchcraft and sorcery being a belief in various African countries. "The child I presume she's the child of War dogs? Well, I'll have someone find out who are her parents. In the meantime, send a team with Ayo to retrieve the child, if that man is cursed we may have no other choice but to use violence to bring the child home." he instructs, the weight of his kingly duties sitting on top and weighing down his shoulders so early in the morning. However, he knows it's another reality of the outside world, child traffickers never stop waging war on children, and all of this just outside the borders. But that's as far as he'll get involved, obliged to attend a meeting with the Taifa Ngao, he must attend to his country's demands first, before the rest of the world. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, kudos and comments are very much appreciated! I added another chapter thus bringing the story to 7 chapters, the pair of soulmates will meet in the next one :)

**Author's Note:**

> If you made it this far thank you for reading! The next part shall be up tomorrow and comments and kudos are appreciated.


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